


Tough Sacrifice

by chamomila



Category: Agents of SHIELD - Fandom, Marvel
Genre: Agents of SHIELD, Daisy misses Jemma, Dr simmons, F/F, Jemma can be a badass sometimes, Momma May, Torture, gxg, like a lot, undercover simmons
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-05
Updated: 2018-08-08
Packaged: 2018-11-23 16:52:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 13,190
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11406567
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chamomila/pseuds/chamomila
Summary: Jemma can't take it anymore, Daisy can't take it anymore. Hydra was tearing them apart; there's no telling if they'd make it, or Jemma at least





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm new on archive guys, but here is a work I've been thinking of for a little while, and if you're interested in little mix I have other stories on my wattpad! (@moderate_skies) so here goes  
> (I own nothing/no one!!!)

-

"Hail Hydra." The caller's deep voice answered. "Are the prototypes ready to be tested Dr. Russel? They are due in an hour." The now short-haired scientist asked, doing her best to hide the tiredness and frustration in her voice. "I can have them ready by then of course, Scarlotti has disbanded the FBI and their SHIELD counterparts." The man seemed a bit nervous at the mention. "Oh. Well, alright, splendid job on his part, proceed with WAB protocols." She rattled off automatically as she scanned her lab area.

"Done." He answered.

"Safe travels."

She hung up afterwards, easily having masked the rising panic in her chest in hearing that a lethal assassin had disbanded a SHIELD team. _What if it was her team? What if..._  
She clutched her fist tightly, feeling the rising angst in her body. Something she needed to blow off, and of course, training always helped.

The doctor packed up her remaining samples and sealed her reports, placing them in the desk drawer in her lab area before reaching into her bag, pulling off her coat to grab her gym clothes she carried around everywhere.

She made her way across the street from Hydra's labs, entering the gym and changed out of her clothes into her gym sweats and shirt. Next, she wrapped her hands in sports tape, carefully making sure her knuckles were covered just the way Skye-Daisy had demonstrated before she had to leave.

Next, the sharp jabs to the punching bag she hauled out into the center of the mat space she had found. Each punch was harder the more she thought of her old team, of the two older agents-the parents; then there were the kids-of course she was practically a child back then, never expecting what types of harm could truly be done to receive intel from a person, another human being. She was young and yes, a little naive despite her brilliant mind. It was a wonder she has even managed to move up in Hydra, to adapt, and form herself into her current state of mind. But it worked, she was a survivor in this treacherous organization and she very much wanted it to remain likewise.  
The girl completed her last kick with a yell of determination, finishing with the punching bag banging against the wall. She was getting better at this, perhaps enough to risk field work...but no, that wasn't something she wanted to do. Well, she did, but she was refusing combat training from a couple of the operations grunts. She didn't want to accept it.  
_"Dr. Simmons?"_

_-_

He sighed as the metals he was continuously tinkering with slipped his fingers. He remembered when he used to be able to patch up any broken piece of intel or wireless receiver necessary in the blink of an eye. His hands picked at the broken comm that his friend had accidentally dropped on her way back from visiting her father. She seemed different that day, more at peace.

But still, she had a sad look in her eyes every now and then.

Fitz couldn't blame her, she had fought her mother. She saw her father kill her for good right in front of her own eyes. Then again, he fought a blind teleporter and lived to tell the tale. Well, at least he was glad that they had succeeded in pushing back Hydra and fending off Jaying's people.  
All of the madness in their lives had been quite the mix of thrilling and horrifying. Then again, Coulson had said this was the craziest show on earth. And so far, he was dead on. "Hey turbo, what's got you up?" A familiar voice called to the Scottish lad. He turned in his seat, tossing his tinkering bits aside. "I can't concentrate. I've healed and all, not completely of course, but I'm still...still erm...h-having trouble speaking." He sighs at the end of his sentence, its not the first time he'd regressed back a few paces to his stuttering. "You just gotta bear with it turbo, like you said. You don't forget, you've got backlogged files in your brain. They'll come to you." Fitz listened silently, wishing that his words would just come together again like Mack said.

But he was having trouble with it lately. Lots. "Yeah I hope so. Thanks." He decided to take a walk, patting Mack on the shoulder in appreciation. The young man walked out of the tech lab and down the halls. He fiddled with the edge of his button up, hearing someone in the training room. It had to be either Daisy or May. It struck him odd though, it was about 2:00 in the morning, neither one of them should be up. He kept walking towards the training room.

The punches and kicks he heard were making an awful lot of contact against the punching bag. As he rounded the corner and approached the mat, Fitz saw Daisy hammering away at the punching bag in the center of the mat. She seemed more determined than he'd seen her in their operations sometimes. But she needed to sleep. Something was bothering her. "Daisy." The man was now next to the mat just as the woman sent the bag flying off its perch with a very strong kick. She whirled around at first, relaxing when she realized who it was. "Hell Fitz, you startled me. What's up?" She asked whilst grabbing her water. "Can't sleep. What about you?"  
"What are you saying?" Daisy paused, observing him. "You can't sleep either. Something's bothering you. I know you Daisy." He sits, gesturing for her to sit with him. He knew she couldn't really say otherwise, because, he did know the young woman well. And so she sat, hardly making any noise whilst settling down besides her friend. It took another four minutes before she finally began to speak once more. "I just wonder. Where is she right now? How she feels."  
Fitz listened to his friend silently, understanding because he knew Daisy was in pain. Hearing that Simmons was to go and infiltrate Hydra to gather intel didn't sound too happy-go lucky to Fitz either. The Scot wrapped an arm around his fellow agent's shoulders and let her lean her head against him. "She's probably adapted, found many pieces of intel that will give us an upper hand, and she'll come back soon. She has to be." He comforted her, rubbing her shoulder. They had one of the best relationships anyone could cease to have-the two understood each other so well, maybe not like FitzSimmons, but Daisy and Fitz always knew how or what to say to comfort one another, they enjoyed a good laugh, and they always normally got told off by Simmons.

They were like siblings. "I guess, but..." She stopped mid-sentence, as if she was contemplating the rest of her answer. "She might have changed, yes. I'm actually going to guarantee that." Fitz knew very well that his best friend would not be the same if she ever returned from Hydra.

The Jemma Simmons he knows is the fun-loving, ranting, Dr. Who loving biochemist. The charmingly silly girl he had known since the academy. He knew that she wouldn't be the same when she returned, Hydra took a toll on everyone who set foot inside it's headquarters. "I wish she didn't go, I really miss having her around Leo." Daisy's voice cracked audibly in his ear.

"Hey shh, don't think about it anymore alright? She will come back soon." He drew her in closer to assure her. She nodded and closed her eyes shut against his shoulder, mumbling a silent thanks. The two sat there silently, not needing to have a conversation to feel the calm and comforting atmosphere.

Fitz listened to the distinct hum coming from one of the generators outside the training room, feeling himself start to get sleepy. The longer he listened, the more his eyelids slid closed until at last, he too fell asleep with his back resting on the bean bag chair he was resting against, with Daisy still fast asleep and curled into his side.

They both found it more comforting to know someone else was there for them, it calmed down the nightmares for sure, and the two slept peacefully for the first time in a while.


	2. Chapter 2

-

Daisy was aware of the fact that someone else was sleeping soundly besides her.

She felt her hands wrapped around an arm that was placed around her shoulders. The young woman let herself remain there for a while longer, relishing her peaceful sleep. It felt so nice to be able to catch up on her rest. She honestly didn't know what she would do if Leo was to leave for a mission too.

Daisy would be alone.

She was quite sure that May wouldn't want a wallowing young girl to come to her for mother cuddles. Coulson was like a father to her but she knew that he had his own matters at hand.

Now Fitz was practically like her brother, always looking out for her. He was sweet, still a braineac even if he had received brain damage. She knew he couldn't remember exactly what he used to, his skills had adapted, he had changed completely. But it wasn't the worst, he learned new things, and his input to the team was slightly angled in which it allowed him to think even faster, to adjust in a heartbeat. She was proud of him; they had been through a lot together. They had been part of the same team for a rather long time. She had literally gotten a front-row seat to the craziest show on earth, but there weren't really any regrets-except of course getting shot twice by Ian-the jackass-Quinn.

"Briefing in 4 minutes in command." Suddenly a loudspeaker caught her attention and got Fitz to stir. "C'mon Leo, briefing in 3." Daisy yawned and stretched her limbs as the sleepy young man began to stretch as well. _Looks like we're on a mission._

With that, the two quickly dashed to their pods, changed their shirts in a flash and ran back to the command center with maybe ten seconds to spare.

May and Coulson were talking silently as Hunter and Mack filed in afterwards, a short moment later. "Good morning agents." Coulson addressed them all as a whole. Everyone else murmured in reply, the last visible traces of sleep disappearing from their faces. "We have a new priority today.

Several hours ago, we were notified by a leak in Hydra's intel-they have located a new form of the terrigen crystals that were made by the inhumans." He began. This hit home, right in Daisy's gut. New versions of instant death, just fucking great. "We believe that they have been accidentally fused into fish oil pills. The chemical components could have entered the fishs' systems as they came in contact with the broken crystals. The diviner's power is still in these components, anyone who eats a pill will be met with instant death."

Her mind was on overdrive, her heart pounding madly-this was her fault, she knocked the Quinjet off the side of S.H.I.E.L.D's command ship, to keep the crystals from harming anyone, yet here they were with the terrigen crystals in fish oil, dangerously lethal. However, she didn't say anything, she stayed quiet and listened, _I can freak out about this later._ "Hydra's already aware of this as well, they found the source at the bottom of the Pacific ocean. We believe they're still after these crystals and have taken half of the jars of fish oil already. We don't know what they're planning to do with the fish oil, but of course, they're Hydra. This could give them the upper hand they need to come back, but we cannot let that happen." By this time, May continued on; flashing Daisy a look: _you did what you had to do._ Daisy didn't believe it, because for fucks sake! She had been the one too wrapped up in warding off Jiaying, she hadn't considered what a bad idea it was to sink a jet full of lethal crystals!

"We leave in two hours, pack light, we will be moving at all times." May said and sent everyone off, Coulson sat on the desk silently, reading through a file and observed Daisy as she turned to leave; May however, wasn't going to have any of it-so in a matter of seconds, she had already made it to Daisy's side and taken her wrist. "Daisy. You cannot beat yourself up over something you didn't have control of." May didn't let go, no matter how hard she fought to get out of her grip.

"I could have done something May! Anything, I was way too wrapped up in my frickin' mom." Daisy countered, giving up on pulling herself away from her SO's grip. "You need to let that go Daisy, you had your hands full with her." Coulson interjected, setting down his files. "I handled three replicas of the demonic red head in the ship!"

"-you almost died Daisy!" May raised her voice, which immediately shut the younger woman up. "If it hadn't been for you, we would all be dead, and no one would have made it off of that goddamned ship. So stop thinking you ruined it all, because you haven't. We all would have done the same thing." She finished, maintaining eye contact with the young woman in front of her. Melinda May was truly something else, but she seemed to care for the younger agent as well.

Coulson and May sometimes acted like Daisy's parents. The mother and father that she never had. "I'm sorry May, Coulson." She bowed her head silently, feeling her lip tremble I can't let them see me have a useless break down right here.

She felt a gentle tug on her wrist. "Give us a moment Phil?" May's voice was a tad softer, or so it appeared to Daisy, this was something she didn't really hear often. "Sure." Coulson left the office without another word, closing the door behind him. "I know you feel responsible." May began, tugging Daisy into...an embrace.

She wrapped the young agent's arms around her waist and held her. "I'm trying to let it go." Daisy murmured, giving into the hug, it was incredibly warm and comforting. "I understand how you feel, but there is nothing else you can do Daisy, all you can do is let it go and assist the mission." May soothed, rubbing a soft circle in the young woman's back. There was a moment of silence, just comforting maternal touches from May, until finally, Daisy nodded, having made her decision. "Okay."  
"Good." And then, the last and most shocking gesture of the century.

Melinda May pressed a kiss to her forehead, a truly motherly gesture. But it was a lovely surprise, Daisy started to smile at the older agent and hugged her tightly once more before letting go.

Phil wanted to bring May on board so that she could find herself again, and this was a step closer to being her true self again. Feeling much better, Daisy and May walked out of the command center and down to their rooms, starting to prepare for the mission. Fitz ran by to check on the girl as well, relieved to notice her more relaxed. She could do this, the mission couldn't be a bust-it wouldn't. Skye knew she would fight until the end.  
Roughly forty minutes later, she found herself boarding the quinjet with Fitz and Coulson and Mack.

"One last notice everyone. Simmons is still on assignment. If anyone sees her, you have got to maintain her cover, whatever she says, go with it, got it?" Coulson asked the team as May released the cargo hold door. "Affirmative." Mack answered, Fitz nodded silently, twisting his icer in his hands. "I don't like having Jemma in hydra." Daisy sighed, feeling the rising anxiety but beat it down fiercely, imagining Whitehall's stupid Nazi glasses being burned in front of his face. "None of us do, but she can get the job done." Coulson agreed silently before turning to look for a hot pocket.

She knew how Simmons was an absolute disaster when it came to lying, it was one of her disadvantages. May seemed to read her mind. "She's improved in undercover, she will be fine."  
_But you don't know that, none of us do_.

Daisy decided not to dwell on her thoughts, much less to voice them aloud-she nodded silently and leaned back into her seat as the quinjet rose out of the hangar; feeling grateful as Fitz took her hand momentarily to give her an assuring squeeze before turning back to fiddling with a broken comm unit that she had broken in an earlier mission. Whoops, she had nearly forgotten about it. Still, she decided to try and take a small nap due to her restless thoughts, she could usually handle herself. It had been a while since the nightmares had acted up again.

_-_

_"Attention everyone, abandon work stations-protocol AT350: this is not a drill."_ Several heads snapped up as the scientist walked past the operating rooms.

She watched as they began packing up the crystals and their equipment rapidly, grabbing guns and knives, anything for defense. Protocol AT350-enemy infiltration. It didn't take her too long to remember the awfully ignorant Hydra protocols she had wasted hours upon hours reading, many months ago. "All scientists proceed towards indicated exits." The loudspeaker boomed over the tide of people surrounding Jemma. She wasn't having any of this, she would stay behind to wipe out the remains of her leak on the terrigen crystals and well, she hated to admit that if she didn't make it out-she wouldn't mind too much, just hopefully that Daisy would get her message, and that Fitz would find a new best friend.

The young chemist gripped one of the cuffs of her black jacket's sleeve, feeling the outline of her gun in the back of her jeans belt. She would do what she could. Pushing past everyone else, she ran towards her workstation, sidestepping the agents that were rushing forwards; reaching her lab easily.

She flew onto the computer, wiping the hard drive clean and with a good kick, left the console cracked on the ground. She gathered her remaining intel, including the flash-drive she was storing secretly in her coffee mug, stuffing it in her boots quickly. The lights then started to flicker, her attention primarily focused on the doorways on either side of the empty room.

Jemma's hand was on her gun while the other wildly searched for the computer console's reciever, yanking it out've it's place and then she took off, taking out her gun as she slunk into the corridor. Soon enough, she started to hear gunshots; shouting and yelling followed quickly afterwards. The young woman knew she would have to slither out of this, and it wouldn't be easy at all.

After turning a couple of corners, she ran face first into a hydra agent; he nearly shot the scientist but after receiving a strong blow to the collar he crumpled, she finished him off with another knock on the head, kicking the weapon away to hear it harshly collide with the brick walls. That had been another thing she learned from Daisy-always finish off your enemy.

Halfway through the trip to the exit, she ran into another group of agents who were moving down the hall.

"Doctor Simmons?" One of them asked, confused. "I know, I forgot to get some intel. Let's hurry." She had no desire to start a chatty little conversation; the agents followed her through some doorways and into a command room where some technicians were still running the base.

"Get down!" Suddenly the deafening sound of gunshots filled the air, Jemma dove to the ground, taking shelter behind one of the overturned desks.  
She peered over the furniture catching a glimpse of a short-haired girl taking down two hydra soldiers; easily knocking them out before shooting two more down. Her heart nearly caught in her throat; Daisy.

They were all here.

Next, the new, and also familiar uniforms showed up-government, not good. Jemma shot one of the government agents in the knee, ducking back under her table once more, seeing the technicians lying limp on the floor, the fight was nearly done. She had to leave, she had no idea what she would say if the team saw her. Without a second thought, the double agent kicked the table towards the arriving party as hard as she could, her weapon still in hand as they were momentarily distracted and she high-tailed it to the door.

"Daisy!-" "Got it May!" She heard as someone probably leaped over the table and began to chase after the doctor. Jemma made it past three rooms and ducked to the left, reaching the final corridor until she felt her ankle knocked aside. The British woman sprawled onto the floor with a cry of shock, feeling her palms scrape against the floor.

Despite the surprise, she rolled out of the way as her attacker missed her finishing blow.

Jemma scrambled to her feet and intercepted a blind punch, elbowing the offender in the belly-well not really, since the person seemed to be made of muscle and abs. Her attacker lurched back but surged forwards, using the dispelled balance to swing their foot behind Jemma's ankle, sweeping her off her feet and firmly onto the ground as the hand on her chest remained there firmly.

The scientist felt herself land with a 'thud' on the floor, her loose hand closing around an abandoned dendratoxin pill, feeling relieved only a slight bit. She was getting better at taking care of herself and being able to hurt others as well. Before she could crush it on the attacker's face, she stopped dead in her tracks as soon as she saw the beautiful face hovering right above her, holding her down.

"Daisy."

 

-


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been working on the spacing on here, I hope you guys can read what I'm writing now :)

"Daisy." Jemma repeated silently.

  
"Jemma." She breathed.

Both girls had spent so many months apart, Jemma missed them all so much-especially the lab and her two best friends-Daisy and Fitz. Here she was with one of them, but, Daisy was keeping her cover. They were in the middle of a war zone.

"-get down!" Suddenly shouting distracted them both from each other; Daisy was quick in rolling them to the side, missing the bullets as they flew past and knelt before springing to her feet, pulling up Jemma with her-who had no idea what her fellow agent was planning. She felt a hand grip her hair and a gun pressed to her temple. "Anyone tries to shoot, she dies!" Daisy was yelling; the Hydra soldiers started to falter, holding their weapons at bay. Jemma whimpered uncertainly; they would probably shoot anyways before letting any intel get stolen.

"They'll kill us anyways if we don't move." She whispered, keeping a pained expression to make it seem as if she was complaining due to her pain. "Where are they keeping the crystals?" Daisy asked her silently, adjusting the gun point shakily to her best friend's temple. "They may have been taken already, generally they're kept in the tech center, three doors to the right." Jemma winced, feeling her neck pop. "Right." She felt another tug on her hair, her friend probably doing the best she could to not intentionally hurt her. "Ow!" She gasped lightly, going along with the agent's plan.

Whatever it actually was.

Together, Daisy slowly backed up with Jemma still in her grip; holding her gun to the younger woman's temple. Then at the last moment, Jemma felt something slip from her grip. "No wait!" She screamed, and before the Hydra agents could shoot, Daisy had chucked the dendratoxin at their feet; knocking them out cold. "Off we go." She said and took in their surroundings, cursing as she held Jemma by the neck once more.

Jemma didn't fight, she simply bowed her head down and stumbled over the bodies of the unconscious soldiers as they hurried past. "Am I hurting you too much?" The scientist heard her friend mutter worriedly as they ran, avoiding the loose bullets as best as possible, of course she felt uncomfortable, however that was truly the least of their current problems. So she didn't respond to her friend, and kept her mouth shut, only to occasionally wince and swear under her breath.

_Bloody hell._

In the brief run, Simmons stopped before Daisy could accidentally bypass the door, causing the taller agent to run right into the Brit. "Shit." Was all that Daisy said and adjusted her grip on Jemma, the young scientist helped; adjusting herself to Daisy's grip.

They took in the tech center, seeing the abandoned workstations-the projects. But none of them seemed to be part of the terrigen crystals project. But before the girls walked out, Jemma spotted the box holding a prototype of the pill-sets of the crystals. Of course, now _I've got to get over there_.

She twitched, giving a hint before pushing herself as far from the tall girl's grip as possible and broke the grip on her neck quickly. "Easy there, Sherlock." Daisy was analyzing her movement, looking for the reason as to why Jemma had wrestled out of her grip.

Without another word, the scientist swept Daisy's feet out from underneath her and lunged for the case of pills. The other agent got the idea and sprung back to her feet, following Jemma out the door once more.

-

Daisy's mind was working at a hundred miles per hour to follow Jemma's plan; she had no idea as to what Simmons had up her sleeve. But whatever she did, it was crucial. Coulson and May were still on comms, Fitz was shutting down the base through the computer systems, everyone else was tearing up the place as much as possible. The government agents hopefully fell during the attack, because Daisy really didn't trust them to properly handle any of the intel they had been clued in on.

Once she realized why Simmons had thrown her down, the older woman lunged for the box; knocking Simmons out of the way. "STOP HER!" She turned to see Scarlotti-one of Whitehall's left-hand men standing by Simmons, helping her up.

He was definitely armed, giving the girl about thirty seconds to act. Knowing that the specimens were locked inside safely due to the extra case-Daisy did what she had to: she hurled it into his chest as hard as she could. Hearing a large huff leave the man she sprang forwards and knocked him out, breaking the man's collar for good measure. Daisy was about to turn to Simmons and hug the daylights out of her for being so brilliant, but the sound of approaching guards behind the young doctor stopped her, and of course, the possible cameras that may have been on.

"Nice Jemma, well done. I never pictured you for the type." Daisy walked closer, retrieving the case of pills from the fallen man so that she could stand right in her face. When the scientist said nothing she leaned in and whispered: "hail hydra." as she pulled the trigger on the icer she had been holding the entire time, right in Jemma's gut. She set her down as gently as possible, knowing she had only moments until they closed in. Daisy looked at Simmons one last time, biting back a sniffle, oh how she missed her old Jemma.  
"Goodbye Jemma Simmons. I miss you." She whispered and ran herself out of the tech center in record-breaking speed, carrying the pills with her. She ran even faster, towards the rendezvous once she realized: _I know how to destroy them_.

Fitz was waiting, rubbing his knuckles silently and anxious. As soon as Daisy set foot on the bus he appeared by her side; yet he didn't say a thing. Odd, it was Fitz here, he always had something to say. As she settled down in the SUV, she desperately hoped that the young biochemist would be okay; shooting Jemma was one of the hardest things she had done. Of course, it was just with an icer to temporarily knock the woman out, but it took everything in her body to not gather the young one up in her arms and run back to headquarters with her and away from Hydra.

Turning back to Fitz, the young man still hadn't said a thing. He was sitting quietly in a seat.  
His head was bowed; he looked shocked, but it was covered quite well.

Something happened in there. It must have, or else he wouldn't be acting this way. "Hey. You alright?" Daisy asked the man, seeing him flinch. What happened to him? "Fitz. Leo, what's going on?" She prompted softly, starting the vehicle. "D...Daisy. I, em...back in there, and...with Ward...I almost-h-he almost died. I said...that I wasn't a uh...wasn't a killer. But I changed. Too much...I killed a man Daisy." He looked close to tears, each word brought him closer to releasing his pain. "Leo..." She was almost as shocked as he was. "I just...just s-shot, Daisy. He had a gun, but I-I beat him to it." His knuckles were practically white with distress.  
"I killed a man. And I didn't feel a thing." He still stared off into space, looking for the assurance he couldn't find.

Daisy didn't speak either, Fitz wasn't the type to do that-much less go into a combat zone. "He could've been brainwashed. Or even had a family Daisy, and I just pulled the trigger." He sighed. The woman could sense his sorrow, but no tears came from Fitz; just the essence of despair and shame.

He knew what he had done. So did she, but this didn't mean the end. "Leo. You did what you had to do." She knew she needed to at least make an effort to console him, so she did-the young woman rested her hand on his shoulder and let him gather his thoughts. "I guess, but..." He didn't finish. The silence was what he needed for now; Skye gathered he needed to be on his own for a bit.

"You'll be okay Fitz, I know what you're feeling. Come find me later okay?" She rose, ruffling his hair gently before slipping away, hearing his soft murmur of an okay.

She walked into the base silently, heading straight for the training bag-she wouldn't sleep anyways tonight, not after seeing Jemma and knowing that she was working in enemy territory. She wanted to not think, and training always helped the young agent do just that.

 

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> jemma needs comfort

"And the prototypes?"

"Gone, I just woke up here."

"Bloody Hell, List will be waiting goddammit." Jemma glared at the jackass she knew Frazier truly was and made an effort to sit up. "I did what I could to get her away, but she had dendratoxin and broke Scarlotti's collarbone. Anyone is useless once the toxin gets in your system." She held her side carefully and flicked off the heart monitors and unnecessary instruments. Brilliant of Skye-Daisy, using the icer, it was brilliant. Although the young biochemist wished that her best friend had run off back to S.H.I.E.L.D with her.

But nope, here she was, still stuck in the grubby Hydra labs with more asses for scientists. "She took the cases with her?" Frazier still didn't finish. "Yes, and she probably got more intel than necessary from us." Jemma snapped, feeling a migraine coming on once more. "Nonetheless, she's our top priority now. We can't let S.H.I.E.L.D get their hands on those pills." He murmured walking back out of her recovery pod. Those last words left ice in her veins. They were going to look for Daisy.

 _Oh no no no no no_. Skye-Daisy couldn't be taken out, Jemma knew she wouldn't let that happen. She wasn't going to risk someone she cared about dearly. So without losing her cool, Simmons held her icy glare. "They already _have_ their hands on it! All the intel that they can find will be in the crystals and the pills, it's beyond our control now." She snapped. Frazier realized this time that the young biochemist was snappy and took it as she hoped he would. "I'm sorry you weren't able to capture those damn agents, but this is on us." He sighed after a while of pacing.

"Right, but I'm on the lookout for them." She rolled her eyes once she turned away from the man. "Okay, done, although we'll get the day off tomorrow, sleep in." He said before walking out of the destroyed lab without another word, leaving her to her thoughts and her now full-blown migraine.

Simmons felt like crying again; she could feel her nerves crumbling as she walked, keeping her cover until she made it back to the apartment. The hydra loft. She hardly realized she was muffling her cries once more as her hands fumbled with the keys in the lock. So when she stumbled into the apartment she was finally crying; just letting her emotions out. It was a long night; the morning was only a few mere hours away.

She was glad that she had the day off. Her jumper was thrown onto the floor, she placed her wallet on the shelf and her keys, but she kept her gun in her belt.

Not even bothering to touch it as she walked into the kitchen, bleary eyes searching for a glass of water as she cried. She took up the glass sitting on the counter and chugged it down in relief, reaching for the aspirin right besides it before stopping cold and her hands found their way to her gun, it was gone.

"No. No no no no no no no!" She started to cry and gently, two arms wrapped themselves around her. What if they were abducting her? "No!" Simmons cried, fighting against the arms as hard as she could, but they didn't budge.

Her attacker wasn't even fighting her, just, looking down at her with sad brown eyes. "Hey, don't cry please." She wiped the startled scientist's face gently and tightened her grip on the younces woman.

"I-miss-y-you all, I've been holding out, b-barely." The shorter woman sniffled, hiding her face in Daisy's shirt. "Shh, just breathe. In and out." Daisy pleaded, rocking Jemma back and forth, resting her cheek atop the biochemist's head who wound her arms tightly around the tall woman's waist.

It was peacefully silent for a while, only altered by Jemma's labored breathing, but that didn't matter to Daisy as long as she knew that Jemma was here in one piece. It was okay. "I-I need a beer." Daisy shook her head, her heart sank. "No Jem, you just need to stay strong."

The biochemist began to full on sob, her tears spilling onto the young agent's shirt once more. "I-I can barely keep myself together. How can I stay strong like this?" She asked. "To be honest hon, I don't know judging by the fact you only have beer, whiskey, and srirocha sauce for a diet-I brought you lettuce and edamame and chicken-by the way. But what I do know is that I'm here right now, you can take a break from the assignment. It's not much but I'm doing what I can." The short haired girl took Jemma's waist gently, bringing her closer as she kissed Jemma's forehead softly. "Gods I really do love you." She sniffled tightly into the young woman's collarbone.

"I love you too Jem. Come on, let's get you cleaned up." Daisy gently picked up the small scientist in her arms and carried her to her small bedroom after leaving her coat in the lounge. The biochemist didn't fight her and switched into her pajama shorts and a loose large shirt before sniffling and burrowing under the covers.

Daisy sat by her on the bed and lay a soft hand on her arm. "Just don't think about it. Shake it off and think about new formulas, or the table of the elements. The color of neon." She tried her best to help the other young woman calm down. Jemma nodded in thanks before Daisy stood to fetch a glass of water.

In the kitchen she thought of how broken the chemist looked, it hurt her heart to see Jemma in the state that she was. In fact, she had never seen Jemma so broken or wrecked.

The biochemist always stayed professional, cheery, always on her game. She returned to the bedroom to see Jemma staring blankly at the wall.

"Here I got you water. I'll come check on you tomorrow. When do you get back?" She tried to ease off a bit on the topic. "I'm not working tomorrow." Was the only answer she received. She blinked. "What happened?" She wondered.

"Just the labs need to be repaired." Jemma sighed. Daisy nodded and turned to leave, hating to have to walk away from someone she deeply cared about. "Stay." She turned to see the young biochemist sitting up on the bed with a hurt expression. "Please." She didn't need to be told twice.

She changed into Jemma's spare jogger bottoms and a loose Harvard sweater before climbing into bed next to the smaller woman. In a heartbeat the biochemist had locked her arms around the hacker's waist and snuggled into her side.

She trembled quietly for a few minutes, Daisy started rubbing her back softly. "Shhh, just relax. It's going to go away. I'm right here with you Jem." She whispered and turned off the light, keeping the young woman close to her. The biochemist managed to calm down and nodded. "Okay."

 

 


	5. Chapter 5

The first thing that Jemma woke up to see was that she had tucked into someone's shoulder-Daisy's to be exact.

She almost screamed in relief, feeling the hacker's shirt material brushing her cheek and her arm resting across the biochemist's waist. She remembered all that had happened the night before, waking up-the labs, no work.

But the funny thing was that she forgot to disconnect her alarm. But nonetheless, Jemma wormed her way further into Skye- _Daisy's_ chest and refused to get up, inhaling the familiar scent of the SHIELD agent. Jemma was thankful for Daisy's presence, it was making her feel more alive than she had the past months.

Now to think about that, there was some change the young biochemist had missed in herself-the temporary life was affecting her. She hated the fact that she had grown paranoid to the point of sleeping with a gun beneath her pillow, or how her computer statistics were strictly cat videos or Netflix for nights off.

The young biochemist looked at the hacker's face, admiring how grown the girl appeared to be-well-young woman obviously. Daisy's hair gently fell behind her ear, a couple of strands astray on her face. Jemma couldn't help herself, she softy traced the woman's collar bones, breezing up the side of her face to brush away the strands of hair that fell across her nose.

Her pale fingers finished brushing away another stray strand of hair when the other woman's eyes opened slowly, focusing on her surroundings and remembering where she was.

"Morning." She spoke in a lovely husky voice.

Jemma didn't shy away and smiled halfheartedly. "Morning." She sighed heavily.

Neither of them honestly knew how to voice it, but the moment they were in merely seconds ago was the most peaceful either young woman had experienced in months.

"How do you feel?" Was the first question out of the hacker's lips, studying the blonde-haired woman that lay facing her. She didn't mind the scientist's fingers gently playing with her black hair. Daisy actually enjoyed the intimate gesture Jemma graced her with; one she dearly needed, lately things back at SHIELD HQ had been becoming quite hectic-with bio weapons on the loose, or new intelligence consistently being recovered. It was lovely to get away from it all, to be able to see Jemma for a little while. "I feel okay." The biochemist gave her, breaking the brunette away from her thoughts.

"Jemma honey." The agent frowned in concern, rubbing the scientist's arm softly. "Why did you even agree to come here?" She asked, her worry increasing little by little. "I couldn't help. Fitz wasn't going to get better...if I was there, and Director needed someone to go out on a limb, someone that could lay low or not attract unneeded attention. Someone like me." Jemma was tracing patterns on Daisy's arm whilst carefully picking her words. Her heart squeezed at the mention of her best friend, although it got alarmingly better over time.

She had accepted the changes.

"Leo's been really fine honestly, but, well, he still misses you a lot you know. We can all tell, he tries putting it off by hanging out with Mack." Daisy shrugs, pulling Jemma closer to her. "I miss him too of course. Maybe I'll be able to leave soon. I'm not sure what else I'll be able to find here honestly." The chemist felt warmer being close to her friend. "I wish you could come home Jem." Daisy pouted to lighten the mood. "Me too, Daisy." Jemma agreed into her collar, enjoying the closeness-something she desperately needed.

"I feel like you've been on edge for months. How do you do it?" Daisy asked her softly, rubbing soft circles on her back. "I don't. I don't know." Jemma whispered, lifting Daisy's shirt sleeve a bit more to see scars... "I'm so sorry Jem. I wish I could...I don't know. I want to protect you, keep you safe, you know? And seeing you here now...this is all I can do." She frowned.

"Daisy." The smaller young woman had a vague theory on the scars, but the hacker tensed for a microsecond before she forced herself to relax. "I'm not...Jems I wouldn't do that-"

"I know Daisy, but..."

"Please just, let's not talk about it yet? I'm not...I can't, not right now."

the short haired woman squeezed Jemma's waist gently and after a moment the Englishwoman let it go, resting her head back against her companion's chest.

Simmons continued tracing, this time going over the scars softly, with such a feathery touch. "I wish you could stay." She admitted sadly, looking up to the other agent's soft eyes in the morning light. Both women were silent for a moment, laying in the bed together.

"I leave at ten." The black-haired agent didn't meet the biochemist's eyes. The scientist buried herself deeper in the outline of Daisy's body, holding back tears. The latter sensed the smaller body start to tremble, her heart broke seeing Jemma falling apart right in front of her. "Oh Jemma..." She hugged the biochemist. A silent sob ripped through Jemma's body.

"I want to come home." She cried.

Daisy gently shushed her, kissing her forehead softly. "You need to be strong for us love, all of us. Do your job, and we're going to look after you." The hacker murmured. "S-Daisy." She sniffled. "Hey, _I know_ you can do this. I believe it." Daisy soothed. "I-I wish I could believe that too." Jemma croaked. "You will." The brunette assured the girl who was gripping her shirt like a vice.

Jemma hated it all.

She was devastated that Daisy would have to leave in two hours. She hated knowing that someone closest to her was also suffering, watching as she dug deeper into some wounds that weren't meant to be messed with.

All she wanted to do now was simply lock herself in a lab with the other woman and be able to work herself away peacefully, with the hacker's comments to lighten her mood, not produce bio weapons or deadly serums. All she knew, was that if her time at this hell of a job was cut short in the time being, she would be at a brief piece she desperately needed.

Whether it involved discovering her as the mole, or simply abandoning the task force at hand, bloody hell, it chilled Jemma's bones when she also realized, she was not afraid of the last possible end of her time at HYDRA: her death.

 


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here's some more gay for your day

"I'll check in soon. Okay? Be strong, please." Her words slowly stabbed away at the biochemist's chest. Daisy Johnson was walking Jemma Simmons into a small diner. The two women agreed to simply part ways at a public facility, so Jemma's apartment wouldn't be compromised; both women frowning when they had to walk a few feet apart to imply distance, as if they were strangers.

But they weren't, it was all for Jemma's safety-that's what Daisy told herself.

Once they were inside, she fixed her beanie, signalling the all clear for the biochemist. They ordered their meals and went to sit in a private booth. Daisy took the young woman's hand beneath the table, squeezing it and interlocking their fingers comfortingly.

"Daisy." Jemma whispered, the paranoia building in her chest.

"Don't do this Jemma, you need to calm down, you're safe with me." The taller woman knocked her knees closer to the British scientist, hoping the closeness would calm her nerves. In response, she noted Jemma's composure began to relax. Her shoulders slumped a tad and she leaned back some more. Daisy knew there were cameras inside the diner and silently told Jemma to make her way outside, silently slipping away once they finished their meals.

Once they stepped out of the camera's viewpoint and towards the back exit, Jemma clung tightly to Daisy.

"Don't feel bad for leaving." Was the first thing Daisy heard her say. "I'll be there Jemma, maybe not right next to you. But I'm here, okay?" She assured her as best as she could, seeing the biochemist try and steel her nerves. "I'll be expecting you." She breathed out against the slightly taller woman's collar. Daisy's hand rested soothingly on the small of her back.

"Take care Simmons."

After feeling a gentle kiss on her forehead the small woman barely heard Daisy rextract and disappear out the back exit without a sound.

Simmons felt as if Daisy took a piece of her as she left. The biochemist's soul was barely hanging on, Jemma knew it was unhealthy to feel attachment to someone or something else asides from body parts, but the feeling she got from Daisy was amazing, as if she brought back Jemma's basic human instincts and the ability to feel a change in mood and it had already been a little obvious when they were still at the base together, working and interacting.

Jemma had a feeling of what the chemistry might have been, and now she was slowly starting to feel it more but then she left.

She was so used to snapping and sulking if she had a bad day at the lab, only her mornings were cheery. Her routine slowly diminished her high energies over time when she first began the job. She thought it was fine, everyone was simply seeing the world from a different viewpoint.

However she learned you couldn't oppose popular opinion, or try to publicly start your own. Really, Jemma knew if she went against them, HYDRA would make her comply, or torture, or kill her. Daisy couldn't protect her now, Simmons knew that, so she made a new decision and left the diner after five minutes, making her way back to grab some clothes from her apartment and change into a better pair of shoes before heading down to a HYDRA training facility for combat class.

She guessed she needed it now, better sooner rather than later. She walked carefully, watching as some of the operation thugs watched her pass by and walked into a new seminar without a single word. The burly men were a little confused, except they lost it once the small scientist used her rage and began to take it out on a punching bag nearby, utilizing what may taught her right before she left. 

_"Lock it down. Save it, store it."_

And she did, except she wasn't going to let go of all of her anger. Absolutely not, because she might need it someday soon. She kept throwing punches at the bag, it was inevitable. But she could prepare as much as necessary.

Once the brunette was far out of Jemma's way, she could hear her phone going off repeatedly, knowing it was Coulson.

"What did I tell you?" He asked once she picked up.

"I know you told me to stay away, but she needed this. I can't say that I'm sorry. She was falling apart." Daisy sighed and double crossed her tracks through main street, getting lost in the crowd in case any HYDRA agents were close by.

"You disobeyed a direct order agent." Coulson said cooly. "Affirmative sir, I'll deal with the consequences." She hung up afterwards and disappeared once more into the shadows of the streets, repeatedly thinking she would do it again, anything to help Jemma. She wanted to save Jemma, to protect her, nothing less.

Sometimes she needed to take a little risk, and why not for someone she cared about?

The tall young woman rounded her block once more before kicking off the floor and used a small gifted push to rocket herself up onto the rooftop of a building. The brunette haired agent watched the city life travel on around her, bikers, pedestrians, cars, buses, motorcycles. Everything and anything, the rooftop made her feel as if she was watching from a new angle, not just the sky or people, but at life as well.

She saw it in the eyes of a regular traveling young adult. No wonder Simmons had her apartment so high up in her building, the view was killer beautiful, just like Simmons herself. The agent kicked herself absentmindedly once more, she was acting upon feelings she couldn't pursue right now. Not in this moment or time, it was dangerous and insensitive to spring such a thought. A distraction.

_Bad_.

And with that, Daisy Johnson cringed at her mind, her heart ached for the irrational, but as irrational as she could be, it wouldn't lead her far. She had to place her mind over matter, even if it absolutely killed her.

Plagued by a flood of thoughts, the agent walked away after one last glance at Jemma's part of the city-HYDRA land-she liked to call it. It was sickeningly pleasing to admire, but horrible to think about. And dangerous of course, very dangerous.

 


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Daisy's dream is in italics. Sorry for such a delay :3 but here we go

Daisy looked up silently into the night sky. She watched the clouds fly by past the Quinn jet as they sped further south, all the way to Florida. She had arrived back at the base in time, went to fill Fitz in and inform him of Jemma's whereabouts.

Fitz seemed a little more at ease, so the agent knew she did the right thing.

Coulson ended up placing the young agent on inventory, which was actually Hunter's chore since he lost to Mack in a bet.

Anyone grew to hate inventory the first ten minutes in, hence the bets. The brunette woman sighed, tallying up her findings after a good two or three hours of examining equipment, and just doing boring administrative things in time she could have been working out, or helping on a small case, or just laying peacefully in her bunk trolling Reddit.

But nonetheless, she knew she had to stick it out, or else Coulson could find a way to withhold her from leaving once again. Sure she was tired, but she was always tired, it was almost a natural state these days.

The tall woman finished her duties after a good couple of hours and headed towards her room, watching Fitz and Mack playing their games in the lounge that was in the way of the rooms. She thought about joining them but the call her bed was sounding was more important than video games at the moment. She could feel her eyes start to droop shut. Daisy slunk inside her room and found a hot pad and a fluffy blanket on her bed, almost screaming in relief.

Courtesy of May, who was silently giving her thanks for going to check up on Jemma.

She knew Daisy was having a rough day. She didn't think twice about diving into her bed, forgetting her pajamas. Instead the brunette stripped off her pants and boots and shirt and simply tucked into bed, finding a big shirt Jemma used to sleep in. Putting the TV on a timer, the agent settled for watching a handful of episodes of Doctor Who. Frowning, she glanced at the time. 20:00.

It's never too early or late for bed.

_Once her eyes opened she sat up in an instant._

_"What?-" The view in front of her was terrifying._

_The young shield agent was laying in Jemma's bed, the sheets pooling around her waist as the sky had begun turning a beautiful blue color that could only mean one thing: terrigen. Once her foot twitched, the bed started to crumble. Everything slowly turned to dust around her._

_Daisy cried out silently and scrambled backwards, running into a metallic surface. Upon turning, she saw a bloody chair, zip ties and a syringe on the ground. But the room was also crumbling; there was screaming coming from all directions as well. Cries for help, to make it stop. "It's my fault. I'm so sorry."_

_"No, no no no no." Daisy gasped but she couldn't hear herself, looking back to see Jemma's apartment crumbling. But where was Jemma?_

_"Jemma?" Daisy tried but it barely came out._

_She tried to walk forwards but the room fell apart faster, right when she made it to the window. She fell forwards, right towards the ocean and her dead mother's awaiting arms. She tried to scream, but then the newly blue seawater began to attack the agent; flooding in her lips and forcing its way down her throat, her vision was shrinking slowly and she panicked when Jiaying's arms caught her._

_The faster she thrashed the more the gap closed-_

-Until the agent sat up and tumbled out of her bed, studying her limbs. No water, just sweat plastering her hair uncomfortably to her forehead. Daisy frowned and stayed on the floor for a minute, studying her palms and tried focusing on nothing in particular. Just letting her mind settle. She stretched, looking at the ceiling, _breath in; breath out._

She repeated the motion until she could get back up into her bed. Seeing as it was six in the morning, Daisy forced her eyes to close and lay back in her bed and did her best to clear her mind.

_-"All projects are due by closing time. Finalize all schematics and plans as soon as possible."_

The loudspeaker drowned on once more above the lab and Jemma silently swore if it so much as went off one more time she would shoot it. Multiple times. A new beeping sound however caught the young woman's attention.

Her lab results were finished. Without wasting a second, the biochemist withdrew her slides and disposed of the contents in the biohazard waste bin before she ran a second analysis check on her previous results.

The terrigen experiments had produced interesting results, earlier on in the week one of the subjects survived the encounter and now the remains of what Jemma called the 'cocoon' of the terrigen were being sent back to the labs for further examination.

However, secondly there was a second project she was working on. This one she despised with all of her heart.

She carefully opened the mini fridge containing the terrigen grenades. This was what had gotten her consults upstairs; her introduction to Frazier and eventually, List. Her version of terrigen not only caught the victim, but if they were human, their cells would dissimilate causing the person to practically melt into the terrigen and dissipate without much of a trace.

It was horribly painful and granted an almost certain death. For a moment, Jemma's finger hovered over the submission email's send box once she finished her notes and rounded up last minute samples.

If this were to fall through, she would move up in hydra once more and be thrown in even deeper than she already was. How could she stay human through out all of this?

Where would her humanity go? What if she failed her real mission? What if she couldn't get back.

At this point, her brain stopped working and her finger pressed the send button. She wouldn't fail the mission. She couldn't. She had to finish this, she had to.

 

-


	8. Chapter 8

Jemma Simmons walked into the HYDRA labs at 7:45 am sharp, getting her routine coffee, her lab coat, her gloves. She continued on with her day although her nagging headache remained. She felt as if something was going to happen. She could feel it in her gut.

Nonetheless, she remained steely calm and said her hellos around the lab before reaching her station which was slightly bigger and farther away from the rest. She used this time wisely to watch the other scientists interacting, assessing their actions. There wasn't anything too unnerving really, just occasional twitches from a couple of scientists here and there. But that was the problem. Everything was too calm, way too normal. As if they were all in on some big company procedure that she wasn't. Feeling unsettled, the young Brit retreated even further into her lab station and began searching for her microscope and her glass slides and her tea mug. 

Bit by bit, more scientists filed into their labs, resuming their projects as the day began to proceed in full swing. But Jemma wanted alone time, and she hadn't been able to update Coulson this week because of the heightened risk. She walked into the back of the labs, scanning in her I.D to walk into the more classified labs in which she had been developing terrigen tech. Snapping on her gloves, she set to work. She retrieved templates of her schematics and began to tinker. Because perhaps instead of terrigen spheres, she could develop lead spheres within a reasonable amount of time just...to be safe. She worked diligently, wearing her brain out in the best way possible. After comparing surface are with atomic molecular dependency she began to splice the spheres together. If she could make at least three, perhaps she would make it through.

Every ten minutes, she would also study the cameras and the guards which passed by the classified labs every three minutes. Once the third guard rotated through, she hunched over the computer and plugged in her hard drive which she had recovered for shield. "This better bloody work." She muttered whilst the system merged subtly into the virus program Fitz installed in it. Two minutes later it finished and Jemma sighed in relief, slowly removing it from the computer and was about to place it in her pocket once the door opened. Her spheres had also finished cooling down, something wasn't right. "Miss Jemma Simmons. If you wouldn't mind coming with me, I'd like to clear you."

She recognized Scarlotti's voice with ease and her spine tingled. "Clear me for what, Scarlotti?" She didn't turn around, keeping her voice cold and menacing whilst letting her hate for the big brute keep her façade. "Just procedure, we saw video evidence of you and the inhuman, she could have bugged you. Or updated you." He sneered and Jemma felt her anger simmering. "Is this an accusation? Because if so, that is a nasty game to play." She turned a bit, toying with one of the spheres in her hand as she contemplated her next move.

He didn't seem intimidated at all, which was fine with the biochemist as it concealed her goal. "What I find will be the deciding factor, Doctor Simmons." He answered calmly. "Well get it on with then or stop wasting my time here." Jemma's voice still had a sharp edge to it as the man motioned for her to follow him. She threw the hard drive away the moment his back turned, swiping her thumb over the back to send out a distress signal indicating to shield that she had gone dark. There was no going back now, she would do what she had to. She followed Scarlotti's blasted ass away from the labs and down a hallway she hadn't been down before, her gut twisted and she knew this wasn't a regular check-in. In fact, once Scarlotti left her in a small corridor and knockout gas poured in, she knew her time was running out.

-

Meanwhile, back at Shield HQ everyone was scrambling for gear. "What's h-happening?" Fitz asked, not very sure if he wanted to know the answer; May caught up to him easily. "Simmons. She may need an extraction." The elder woman tried to explain lightly but Fitz shook his head. "No I...she's in trouble, isn't she?" He asked as May nodded. "We're going to find her and bring her home Fitz, I promise we will do our best." She squeezed his shoulder as the young man nodded. "Please. And don't...let Daisy d-do anything...anything rash." He added. May nodded before heading towards the docking bay towards the Quinjet.

As May moved towards the bay, she spotted Daisy heading her way. The young woman looked determined and ready for the mission, and probably was deeply concerned for Simmons. Although May didn't say anything, she didn't have to. Not yet at least. Coulson bade them farewell after Hunter joined them. "You may not like what you find, but you have to hope that you can work with whatever happens. Got it?" He aimed his words mostly towards Daisy, watching her closely. She nodded wordlessly and then he sent them off. 

Daisy was anxious the entire plane ride to the Hydra compound. What if Simmons was too far gone? If she blew her cover and couldn't find a way out? What if-"Daisy Johnson. Stop thinking, we can both hear it." Hunter caught her attention. "I'm not speaking." She responded. "Your face says otherwise." Hunter sighed and turned to her fully. "Look, we're going to bring Simmons home, alright? That's out of the question. We are. I give you my word." He didn't break eyecontact the entire time. May agreed to the statement as well and Daisy forced herself to relax as much as possible. "Thanks. I think I did need that." She fiddled with her gauntlets, moments with Hunter were rare and she decided to leave it at that. "Sure thing. So to clarify, I'll secure an exit and you both go look for Simmons, call for backup if you need it." He relayed for them.

"Make sure the Quinjet is cloaked as well, we don't want any exposure if possible. And, prepare a medkit. You never know." May agreed as Daisy's heart lurched. She knew May was doing the right thing even if it meant Jemma may be severely injured; the inhuman wasn't sure if she could handle seeing someone she loved in such a state again. Nonetheless, they moved out; immediately taking out the rooftop guards and secured a way into the compound as Hunter stayed behind with the ship. 

"I can hold them, don't worry you two, now scoot." He herded them away; praying for the best. Daisy followed closely behind May, watching their every move; keeping an eye out for any possible anomalies that could alert of their presence. "Going in dark, Hunter stay close by." May relayed quietly into comms and heard an affirmative before they switched off their earpieces.

The two women moved carefully, keeping in the blindspots of all cameras and checking their steps. From what they deciphered, the transceiver on Simmons' hard-drive had pulled schematics from the base and uploaded onto Fitz' virus cloud that relayed automatically back to HQ. Jemma appeared to have been in a classified lab and then taken to operations.

That was the best guess at least.

"I don't like this, at all." Daisy said as she opened a vent. May stopped and watched. "I don't either, and from what the hard-drive gave us, the operations division should be a whole sector over. We can assume she's being brought to holding or...interrogation." May sighed, trying to say it lightly but it didn't lessen the rage that the young inhuman felt in her gut. "If they did, boy will they be sorry." She breathed out slowly, breathed back in slowly; just relaxing as much as possible when she felt the whole hall begin to shake. " _Calm_ _down_ agent, we are seconds away from alerting them of our presence." May hissed. "It's L.A, they're used to earthquakes May. Let's go." Daisy growled and they both ducked into the vents as the elder agent put the vent cover back in place. They set off in silence, occasionally peering down to see what they passed. 

Daisy thought she lost count of how many labs they'd passed until May held her steady as voices came into range. "Holding?" Daisy whispered in question; May's gaze hardened as she peered below and nodded. _"Shut up and be grateful that we haven't put you out of your misery, there is more to come and I can guarantee you that."_ A voice snarled. They were above a cell, watching as someone came to badmouth the captive. _"Hey, Tommy shut up and get my supplies for interrogation."_ A new and more authoritative voice surfaced. Daisy felt her blood boil,  _Scarlotti_.

"I'm going to wring his scrawny broken little neck." She hissed. May just gave her a knowing look that could've been a fraction of a smile. _"Sure thing, where will you be?"_ The ignorant man with Scarlotti asked as the other straightened up as much as his injury would allow. _"D23, bring the serum as well; I believe we can break her, and if not; she will comply."_ Scarlotti grinned and patted the man on his shoulder before turning and limping away.

"Let's go." May jerked her head in his direction and Daisy nodded. They set off once more, heading towards what seemed like interrogation, based on the different cries and yells of distress. Daisy hated it, but she carried on; for the team, for Jemma, for Fitz, all of them. She reached a crossroad at the vents in an empty room. "What does it say?" May asked and Daisy shrugged. "I'll take a look." She said and removed the vent to poke her head down and froze, May understood and immediately slammed the vent back down in perfect timing as Scarlotti entered the room followed by another rugrat helper of his.

 _"This is what I need, great, you can go."_ He nodded before opening a door and going inside, bringing the cart inside. "Clear this time, go." May said as Daisy went to disengage the vent and looked down carefully.

"Quickly, down." She whispered and let herself fall out of the vent to land on her feet and squat down. May followed suit and they relaxed seeing no cameras and the door was tinted in their favor. "There's more than one door. Which one could it be?" Daisy sighed in frustration seeing unmarked doors in front of them. "I think he chose one on the left." May frowned and put her ear to the door. Daisy did the same to the one in the middle. "No, maybe this one." She suggested. She then remembered; she could feel vibrations in particles in the ground.

"Maybe I can determine where he went, maybe I can feel him through vibrations in the ground." She spoke and May had a unfamiliar glint in her eye, but it seemed to be a good one. "Be my guest." She gestured and watched their surroundings as her student lay her palm on the ground, tuning into the floor vibrations. There were multiple, however Daisy learned quickly to tune the far ones out and focus on the more prominent waves.

"This way." She pointed to the middle door. May opened it, readying herself for an attack-none came. Instead only a line of doors marked in alphabetical order. Interrogation cells. "Made it." Daisy told her S.O as they crept down the hall, watching the numbers and letters.

"D12, D13, 14, 16..."

She felt her stomach flip unpleasantly. "23, we're here. Let's hope there's a waiting area. And Daisy." May warned; making her stop. "She could be in any condition, but you can't lose focus." The older agent said. "Yeah." Daisy nodded and lay a hand on the door, the vibrations had just dulled down; someone had opened the door recently, but the other side was quiet. "It's quiet, there must be an extra room." Daisy confirmed and opened the door gently, being met with an agent who had his back turned to them. May knocked the man out without a second thought. Daisy caught the man as he crumpled to the floor and they bound and gagged the man. They locked the door shut next and Daisy went to look into the window. 

Sure enough, there was the vile excuse of a human otherwise known as Scarlotti, circling around a captive wearing a hood.  _"Wake up, Doctor."_  He called out in a false sweet voice before spraying water on the hood and the vic lurched in shock, spluttering. "Who is that?" Daisy breathed, for some reason she had a bad feeling about who was in the interrogation chair. She felt it. May didn't understand, until Scarlotti took off the hood; her expression hardened. Daisy looked also before the older agent could block her sight and nearly screamed as he began the interrogation.

"No, Jemma."


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter gets a bit...intense just to let you guys know. Happy reading x

"We can't let him, let's go May." Daisy didn't want to see what Scarlotti was planning, not a wink of it. "Daisy, wait. We don't know his plan." May cautioned; giving way to more anxiety in Daisy's gut. They watched as Jemma snarked back; Daisy was almost taken back at the nasty attitude Jemma acquired to face the man, but still impressed.

"I don't give a damn about how prettied up you look, neither will List as long as he gets answers and his results." Scarlotti was saying.

Jemma looked a bit mortified but still smirked. "At least I'll always be prettier than you, scarface." She seemed proud until Scarlotti backhanded the Englishwoman across the face. Nonetheless it didn't stop her from smirking again. "You hit like A GIRL Scarlotti, and I'm not afraid of you and your broken collarbone." She leaned forwards in her chair, spitting out blood on his boots. "Simmons...is holding her own, and I saw her...a week ago. She was so different." Daisy was shocked but still tense and seething with anger as Scarlotti looked baffled and slightly furious.

"Admit you're hiding something, I know you were still loyal to shield and you're going to prove it. You've been slipping them info, leaked project Blackstar." He growled and bent as far down as his collar allowed, slamming his hands on her armrests. "Well why don't you just find out then bastard?" Jemma hissed dangerously close, noticeably nervous to May. "I assure you, I will." He hissed and moved to side-swipe her.

A crack was heard as Simmons yelped in pain; he'd broken her nose. "Oh now he's  _getting_ it." Daisy fumed and readied herself, May set a firm hand on her shoulder before she could think of moving. "What the hell May?"

"Stay put." She refused.

"If I don't go out there, Simmons is going to die May!" The brunette hissed menacingly under her breath. "Not yet." May hissed back and firmly pinned the agent against the wall.

"Who's job are you trying to do?" Daisy watched in horror, feeling tears prick at her eyebrows when Jemma didn't answer, receiving a hard punch to the jaw. "We cannot engage, Coulson's orders." May twitched after another blow to Jemma's gut sounded loud and clear.

Daisy strained as hard as she could, no luck. Silently she cursed her mentor as someone she loved was getting tortured right in front of her own eyes. The fire she felt and saw was incredible, she never knew she was capable of such rage, apart from when she had to finish her mother. It was horrifying, but perhaps the young agent would need it and quite soon, May wouldn't be able to hold her back forever.  
 _"-_ _Answer me now_ , I don't want to hurt you." Scarlotti sighed when the biochemist kept her jaw shut. He walked over to a table and pulled out a shot. 

"Well, if you won't update me on the terrigen issue, we'll have to do this the hard way." Scarlotti said. Daisy watched in disgust, rage overtaking her vision when he stuck the needle carelessly in her arm. "Shame, the pain sets in after about five minutes or so. Should be a right blast am I right? You'll get talking really fast." He smirked deviously and carefully brushed Jemma's hair back, igniting a piece of pure rage in Daisy, who almost growled.

"Don't touch me." The biochemist spat on his shoe, the brave soul. He only chuckled and slammed a bucket of water over her head. "Two minutes left sweetie. I could still make it stop. You just have to answer me." He toyed with a knife in his hand. Daisy knew what he meant, of course he would kill Jemma sooner or later, unless she prevented it first. A minute passed, Simmons was breathing hard. "Four seconds." Scarlotti answered again. No response except for. "Go fuck yourself. Even if I beg, if I scream. T-That means nothing and I won't mean a thing of what I say." Jemma gasped.

Daisy almost snorted in horror and appraisal. Then she realized, 7...6...5...4...3...2...1...

Jemma didn't have a high pain tolerance, or at least she wasn't informed of the biochemist having much tolerance. "Stay down." May ordered firmly, before Daisy could do anything.

"You can feel it." Scarlotti harrumphed in surprise, leaning down to be face to face with Simmons. The scientist's pupils were dilated to say the least, the two shield agents watched Jemma pass through the first minute with only a shake in her hands. Daisy tried to get free, but May didn't let her. Jemma's lip began to tremble, her body shook after three minutes, her knuckles grasping the chair so hard she was afraid she'd break it.

-

The chemist felt as if she was on fire, her brain working at a million miles per hour. It was a stimulus drug heightening your pain receptors that Scarlotti gave her, she was four minutes in and it was bad, her pain resistance was minimal but it was still something. Apart from pain, Jemma felt rage. She could feel the anger in her system that funneled into her pain, because she should be stronger. She normally figured out a way to fight her way out of things, people, and assignments. She blinked. Of course. She could use the pain, and the rage. Maybe she could break out.

  
By that time, the first scream escaped her mouth. She embraced the pain, feeling it burn through her entire body, her adrenaline through the roof. She screamed again, louder, feeling her nerves begin to spike dangerously. The more she screamed, the more pain she felt, the more rage.

Scarlotti was watching with an amused smirk, that did it. Jemma felt her stupidly loose restraints snap, she used the element of surprise to blindly surge forwards and swing the interrogation tools right into his face, before collapsing onto the floor in a heap, having used up almost all of her strength. Until she fumbled in her pocket, because the imbecile forgot to check her for anything.

She felt the sphere in hand and looked for Scarlotti, seeing him coming to grab her and let him before slamming the device into his left arm.

He screamed as the device dug into his arm and popped back out on the other side, full of blood and he let her go, screaming in pain. Now all she felt was pain, she screamed and screamed seeing Scarlotti being...attacked? Blurry figures appeared here and there, but the pain soon blocked everything out. Jemma thrashed, her body writhing and twisting, trying to rid itself of pain, no use. She could hear shouts, muffled screams, loud bangs, but her screams almost drowned them out completely.

The biochemist arched off the floor, feeling her screams begin to weaken her throat.

She fought it, as best as she could, but the bloody drug was on the upper hand. She cried and cried, the pain was endless it seemed. She didn't know how long it had been, but as time carried on, she only felt worse. The pain dragged itself out, her screams were turning into violent sobs and cries of pain, she didn't want to move herself to risk triggering any more pain.

No one touched her, time went on, she could barely breathe, her lungs wheezing for air.

She lay there on the floor, weak and sobbing and crying in pain. She prayed for the end, begged for her death. Anything to make it stop. Soon figures were approaching her, she didn't care what they wanted. Who they were, what they thought. She only rolled onto her back with another gentle touch that was on her left rib cage. The pain flared up her left side immensely.

Jemma screamed again because of the pain. The touch immediately disappeared and worried hands, short hair filled her vision. More figures came into view, Jemma screamed in pain again, this time a little weaker. Finally she stuttered out a request.

"M-make it stop. P-please." She cried before letting out another blood curling scream, the last droughts of the injection hitting her hard and clear. She didn't receive an answer, or at lease she didn't hear one. She repeated her request between her screaming, laying there and pleading, begging for the end. Jemma wanted nothing more but peace of mind, or well in other hands, she was begging for death to take her right on the spot.

But then finally someone came to her, watching as she writhed around with the most painful expression in their eyes.

 _Gonna get you home...promise, just...hang in there."_   They were saying as another sharp pain entered her body and she screamed once more, and felt her breathing slowing down, the pain was receeding.

The last thing she remembered was crying into someone's chest but knowing that they meant well by the kiss they placed on her forehead.


End file.
